Currie, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Currie is the largest town and administrative centre of King Island, which lies in Bass Strait off the north-west tip of Tasmania. It sits just inland from a partly sheltered natural harbour on the island's west coast, where a lighthouse has stood since 1879, with the Southern Ocean beyond. The settlement was first known as Howie's Boat Harbour and was later renamed after Archibald Currie, a Melbourne shipowner connected with one of the many ships wrecked on this stormy coast. King Island became known as a graveyard of Bass Strait sailing ships, and Currie grew as a salvage and port town. Today it centres on beef and dairy cattle and a rock-lobster fishery.
Less advantaged than the national average
Currie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 20% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 929, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Currie a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Currie from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
20/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (20/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
78/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $200 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 78% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Currie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 766
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,242
- SEIFA score
- 929
- Local government area
- King Island
- Coordinates
- -39.9257, 143.8522
Map of Currie
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Currie
What it costs to live in Currie and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $200
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,083
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 65%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 29%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Currie demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Currie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Currie using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 29% and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 121 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 54 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 187 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 181 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 221 | 29% |
Share of the 764 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 131 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 84 | 25% |
| Rented | 95 | 29% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 302 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 23 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 329 occupied private dwellings in Currie.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,724
- Median weekly personal income
- $837
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 112 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 48 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 22 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 250 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.5%
- Employed full-time
- 219
- Employed part-time
- 139
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Share your local knowledge of Currie
Lived here or spent time in Currie? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Currie
Is Currie a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Currie rates 39/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Currie?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Currie was $200, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,083. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Currie?
Currie is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the King Island local government area.
What is the population of Currie?
At the 2021 Census, Currie had a population of about 766.
Is Currie an advantaged area?
Currie has an ABS SEIFA score of 929, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 20 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 20% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.